Please Give Your Love to Me
by Mouth Sealed
Summary: Rin/Haruka/Aiichirō! Aiichirō has been in love with Rin for quite some time, but Rin is still trapped in his unrequited love to Haruka. As if Rin hasn't hurt him enough, he uses him as the outlet of his sexual depression towards Haruka and demands Aiichirō to bed with him. Will someday Rin open his eyes, get over with his past, and start loving Aiichirō?
1. Chapter 1

"_Aaah! Aaah!_ M—Matsuoka-senpai! _Nnngh!_" Aiichirō moaned as he clung onto the crumpled dark grey bed sheet as if his life depended on it. He could hear the sound of the bed creaking in the room and worried sick if the people from the neighboring rooms could hear them or not, but with Rin grunting passionately with his hoarse voice as he thrust his hips, there was no way Aiichirō could voice out his thoughts.

Rin was holding onto Aiichirō's neck, still rocking his hips frantically. The sensation of Aiichirō's insides was just amazing, the hot walls gripping on his cock tightly like a glove. He felt his cock twitched when Aiichirō unknowingly tightened his insides, and it felt so good the red head felt like he could have come if he didn't try to restrain himself.

Because he could never get enough of it. He wanted more… More!

"_Ngh_—Nitori, raise your hips higher!" Rin grunted loudly, his climax coming closer.

"S—Senpai!" Aiichirō obeyed. He bit his bottom lip as he tried to lift his hips as high as he could, but he couldn't find the strength to do so after being done for so many rounds already. With his wobbly legs betraying him, he could only whisper an apology for not meeting Rin's expectations.

Knowing that Aiichirō couldn't lift his hips any higher, before the younger boy could even react properly, Rin's arm has already slithered right under his chest and pulled the him toward his body, putting Aiichirō's svelte body on his lap all the while thrusting into him.

Aiichirō cried in pain and pleasure when Rin's cock went deeper into him, just when he thought it couldn't go any deeper. The squelchy sound of their skin slapping was too indecent for the grey haired boy and he was dying to plug his ears, but their bodies were already covered in sweat he had no choice but holding onto Rin.

"_Aaah! Aaah! Aaah!_" Aiichirō cried louder, his hands latched onto Rin's arms for leverage. He could feel Rin's hot breath right on the crook of his neck, before he felt pain coming when Rin opened his mouth and bit on his neck with his jagged teeth.

When he felt the taste of blood, Rin licked on the bitten patch of skin which has grown red already; and he smiled proudly when he saw the bloody torn skin marring his underclassman's milky skin.

He closed his eyes, kissing Aiichirō's neck repeatedly as his breath grew more and more desperate.

"_Haaah… Haaah…_" the violent shark was still planting kiss marks on Aiichirō's neck as he closed his eyes, imagining the love of his life which was still left unrequited until this second. The one he could never straightforwardly confess his love to, the one he was dying to defeat in order to stand proudly on the same level.

'_Haru… Haru!_' Rin grunted louder. He imagined that it was Haruka's body that was in his arms right now. That it was his smooth skin he was kissing, that it was his lustful voice that was moaning to him, as if asking for more.

* * *

"_It was your win." Haruka closed his eyes dismissively before he turned his body to see him straightly. "That's great…, Rin."_

* * *

'_There's no way I would be glad over such a pitiful win!_'

"Haru… Haru! I'm coming!" Rin couldn't bear it anymore and finally let out his cum inside Aiichirō, filling him with his warm substance.

Between his heavy breaths Aiichirō felt a sudden pang on his chest when he heard Haruka's name being called by Rin, with the red haired boy's desperate voice, as if Rin was begging for Haruka to be the one on his embrace instead of him.

This wasn't the first time Rin called him before he went up to the top bunk bed to sleep, and definitely wasn't the first time he called Haruka's name in the middle of sex, but Aiichirō couldn't help but felt like crying every time he heard the other man's name coming from Rin's lips.

As if relenting to the painful truth that his beloved upperclassman's heart would never be his, Aiichirō closed his eyes and hid the tears that were about to roll down his cheeks, and loosen his grip on Rin's arms as his insides felt full after Rin came inside him.

'_Just when will you see me… for who I am, and not as Nanase-san's replacement? Matsuoka-senpai…_'

* * *

The next morning, Rin woke up to the indistinct clattering sounds before blinking a few times, trying to get used to the brightness of the room since someone has opened the curtain. His eyes quickly found the hazy sight Aiichirō's back across the bed; his lithe figure moving around the front of his desk, searching for something. He gazed at the younger boy for a while since his brain was still halfway into reality, but when Aiichirō still didn't stop making clattering sounds, he finally opened his mouth.

"Nitori… What's with the ruckus?" Rin yawned as he spoke.

"Ah! Matsuoka-senpai! Good morning," Aiichirō bowed after he turned his back in surprise. "I... I was just looking for a band aid… I was sure I put it on my desk, though…"Aiichirō turned his back once again and started looking for the band aid.

"What, are you injured somewhere or something?"

Aiichirō's cheeks suddenly reddened, his hand moved involuntary and covered the wound from Rin's careless biting before his brain could stop it. "Ah!" he exclaimed in panic. "Errr—No, it's just… Last night, you—"

"Ah…" Rin sighed in guilt. "I'm sorry. Does it hurt?" he rose up from the bed and scooted toward the younger boy. "Let me see it."

"N—No! It doesn't hurt at all! I'm fine!" Aiichirō stepped backward, his hand still covering the wound.

"I said, let me see it," Rin blocked Aiichirō's body between the desk and his tall figure and pulled Aiichirō's hand away despite the latter boy's resistance.

His eyes widened when he saw the dark red wound on Aiichirō's neck. The wound was barely made a few hours ago so it was still a bit wet, and the fact that his teeth were especially sharp and jagged could only make Rin feel worse.

"Sorry…" Rin sighed apologetically. "I'll go ask someone for a band aid. Stay here," he tapped Aiichirō's shoulder before picking up his black sleeveless shirt which apparently has been folded and placed neatly on his own desk by Aiichirō.

* * *

_**Author's Note** - Hellooo! This is my first Free! fan fiction and of a less popular pairing, to boot, so I'm not surprised if there are only a few people willing to read this. I know I would get killed for saying this, but… I ship Makoto/Haruka, Rei/Nagisa, Rin/Aiichirō, and Seijūrō/Gō. At first I wanted to write this as a PWP one-shot but then my sister was like, "Poor Nitori! Rin only sees him as Haru's replacement and uses him for sexual release!" And I felt bad for the little guy, sooo…_

_And for those who ship and those who don't ship them but read this anyway, thank you very much! Please leave me a comment and tell me what you think of this story!_

_See you on the next chapter!_


	2. Chapter 2

"_—pai, Matsuoka-senpai,_" Rin could hear a medium-pitched voice calling his name repeatedly. Damn it, of all times, why should he be woken up when he was having a really good dream?

"Matsuoka-senpai, please wake up!" Aiichirō didn't stop trying to wake Rin up despite the latter making an obvious expression of annoyance. The silver-haired boy tugged at his upperclassman's shoulder repeatedly. The risk of being punched right in the face could wait later, as long as Rin could make it to the practice on time!

"Ugh…" Rin grunted, annoyed. He tried to ignore Aiichirō at first but the boy didn't look like stopping anytime soon, so Rin gave up and opened his eyes. He blinked a few times to fix his blurry sight. "Nitori…"

"Ah! You finally woke up!" Aiichirō gleamed in relief. "I'm really sorry for waking you up, Senpai. But I saw you sleeping so soundly, I thought you might overslept if I didn't wake you up…"

Rin was about to berate about how Aiichirō should have minded his own business and only come to Mama him about practice when he finally could swim better, but he thought it would be too mean of him, so instead he exhaled in frustration and pushed the shorter boy away so he could get out of the narrow bunk bed.

"What's for practice today?" Rin asked as he walked to the light grey wardrobe placed right beside the bunk bed. He took out his Samezuka Academy jersey and put it on, securing the zipper completely until it reached the underside of his chin.

"Running through the school grounds and indoor practice at the swimming pool as usual!" Aiichirō answered excitedly.

Rin's face remained unfriendly when he walked closer toward Aiichirō and gazed at him for a long time, long enough for Aiichirō's face to change from confused, to apprehensive, to blushing red like a tomato, to perturbed.

"…M—Matsuoka-senpai, is something… wrong?" Aiichirō couldn't help but lower his head as he could no longer look at Rin's stern face.

"The kiss mark," Rin whispered, his voice low. "Is it still there?"

Aiichirō's face suddenly reddened as he widened his eyes in surprise. His lips trembled as he searched for the right words inside his head, only to stutter pathetically, "I—it's fine! I—I stopped putting on the band aid starting this morning… It's just a tiny red dot now…"

Rin sighed in relief. "Sorry, I shouldn't have left any mark on you since we don't wear much during swimming practice… But somehow I can never control myself…" Rin's eyes turned distant as his mind flown, thinking about a certain someone who probably was also thinking about him.

"Must be hard on you, huh? Nitori," Rin smiled wryly.

The taller boy turned his back and walked toward the door, before he turned his head once more as his fingers touched the doorknob. "I'll try to restrain myself from now on, Nitori."

Aiichirō watched in silence as Rin opened the door and left the room. The sound of the door closing was the last thing he heard before the deafening silence crept in. He was still sitting on the edge of Rin's bed, his fingers clutching the crumpled bed sheet.

"Even though it's okay… not to restrain yourself, Matsuoka-senpai…"

* * *

During practice, as if forgetting the depressing air they had in their room, Rin and Aiichirō were running together with Aiichirō barely make it to keep in close stance from Rin.

The students of Samezuka Academy—which was well-known for its strong swimming club—have to adhere to Sparta-like routine both academically and physically, from taking academic classes during the day, and running long distance and swimming practices for endurance afterschool—double during tournament seasons. It was only expected to stay within the school grounds to keep up with the strict routine, thus it was made a boarding school.

Aiichirō was already sweating so much and was barely breathing while Rin looked like he was just having some little stroll with his dog. He regretted coming up to Rin and started the conversation about Iwatobi High School, knowing full well how attached Rin was despite the red-haired shark denial.

'_I talk too much…_'Aiichirō sighed inwardly in regret.

"I've never heard about any joint practice," Rin finally stopped running and looked back at Aiichirō who also stopped running. The silver-haired boy quickly used this chance to fix his rigid breathing, and placed his arms on his knees for leverage.

Still panting heavily, Aiichirō answered, "The captain made the call.

"Your little sister is a member of Iwatobi swimming club, right?" Aiichirō finally felt better after taking a few seconds of break to stand straightly. "The members are Nanase Haruka, Tachibana Makoto, and Hazuki Nagisa."

Like always, Aiichirō prattled more than necessary and continued, "They all have girly names—_urk!_" he jumped in shock when he saw Rin's eyes glinting angrily as if throwing daggers.

"…Sorry," he stopped abruptly, looking downward.

Rin was still looking at him piercingly when he asked coldly in a whisper, "How do you know?"

Despite Rin's expression, Aiichirō smiled gently and replied, "Because I participated in that tournament. I believed that was your last tournament as an elementary school student, Matsuoka-senpai.

"My team lost in the preliminaries, but…"Aiichirō paused for a while before beaming cheerfully.

"That race was really amazing!" he smiled whole-heartedly, his eyes gleamed in excitement.

Taken aback by Aiichirō's words, Rin looked away in an instant.

* * *

Aiichirō had finished taking a shower and was studying intently on his desk. There would be an English oral test coming up soon, so as a good student like he was, Aiichirō tried his best studying the subject he painfully had to admit, was a little too hard for him.

'_No, don't give up!_' he pushed himself in resolve. '_Even after so many tiring swimming practices, Matsuoka-senpai manages to stay in the top ten! I can do this!_' Aiichirō nodded to himself, determined, and resumed on.

"_W—Where iz za hospitōru?_" Aiichirō read out loud one of the conversation samples in his textbook. "_Furōmu here, turn refuto, ando—_" he stopped reading when the door suddenly opened, and Rin's tall body appeared.

"M—Matsuoka-senpai!" Aiichirō exclaimed in surprise before his cheeks reddened in embarrassment. '_Did Matsuoka-senpai hear me? Waaah, it's so embarrassing! My English sucks…_'

"Yo," Rin rubbed his head, drying his damp, after-shower hair with the white towel that was draped around his shoulders. He walked toward Aiichirō and placed a can of isotonic drink on the silver-haired boy's desk, before leaning in closer and looked at Aiichirō's books.

"Aaah, so you're studying English," Rin grinned. It was so obvious that he found the whole thing funny. "I heard you speaking nonsense from the corridor and wondered what language were you speaking."

Aiichirō gasped loudly in embarrassment, his cheeks reddened even more. "I—I'm sorry, Matsuoka-senpai!"

"What are you apologizing for?" Rin shrugged nonchalantly. He wondered when Aiichirō would stop acting so feverishly around him and get a grip already. "There, I bought you a drink," he gestured to the metal can on Aiichirō's desk before sitting on his bed, sighing contently in the process. "If you need help, I can help you practice."

"Really!?" Aiichirō's face brightened. "Ah, and thank you very much for the drink!"

Has his mind scattered by the things Rin did so spontaneously, Aiichirō fidgeted for a moment before something clicked in, and he quickly grabbed the English textbook and dragged the chair so he could sit closer to Rin.

"Let me see it," Rin ordered, although his hand has already grabbed the book from Aiichirō's hold. The red-haired boy read it for a while and finally his head to Aiichirō only to find the boy staring at him like some prized possession, and grunted in annoyance, "If you're sitting there, how are you supposed to read the book with me? And stop looking at me like that."

"Eh?"

"Sit," Rin patted on his bed impatiently.

Aiichirō could only stay frozen until Rin lost his patience and grunted for the umpteenth time, "Or you want to study by yourself?"

"Ah! Yes! Er—I mean… No!" Aiichirō hurriedly jumped onto Rin's bed before the latter changed his mind.

Rin sighed. "Tsk. I've never seen someone as nervous as you."

"I—I'm sorry…"Aiichirō lowered his head. He couldn't help it, though. The person he looked up to and adored the most was now sitting beside him, teaching him English! Although he also knew that they have done things more intimate than sitting side by side…

* * *

"_Lift your hips higher!"_

"_You're so tight… Clamping down on my cock…"_

"_What's this? I barely touched you but you're already this wet…"_

* * *

Instantly, the image of Rin panting heavily and the sound of bed creaking slipped into his mind. Aiichirō's cheeks flushed involuntary, and he suddenly felt guilty towards his family who sent him to this school to study without obstruction. Strangely enough, he remained innocent despite the lewd acts Rin taught him in bed.

As if white smoke coming out of his head like a kettle, Aiichirō shook his head repeatedly to get rid of the dirty thoughts. '_No, no, no, no, no! Brain, why are you thinking of those stuffs now, of all times!?_'

"Oi…" Rin face-palmed inwardly at one of many of his underclassman's antics.

"Ah, yes!" Aiichirō slapped his cheeks with the palm of his hands. "Ready when you're ready, Senpai!"

"Yeah, whatever." Rin shrugged, gave up trying to figure out his underclassman's brain. "Here, you're A. I'm B."

It was hard to admit, but Aiichirō suddenly felt like crying because he was damn sure he would sound like a toddler who barely could say anything compared to Rin's perfect English.

But, this was one in a million chance! He wouldn't ruin this!

"_W—Where iz… za… hospitōru?_" despite trying his best, his tongue just couldn't work with him and he was forced to jump back to square one.

'_This is not good… Surely Matsuoka-senpai would get tired of teaching me…_' Aiichirō lowered his head, ashamed.

He had expected Rin to laugh at his ridiculous pronunciation and was prepared to be ridiculed at, but instead Rin's index finger pointed out the sentence he just read and said softly, "…You don't need to be nervous, just relax. That way, you can read the sentence more clearly with lighter tone.

"Like this, one. Instead of saying '_is_' with a 'z', just read this lightly like '_is_'. And for '_the_', put your tongue between your teeth, and as you pull the tongue lightly into your mouth, say '_the_'. Got it?"

Perplexed, Aiichirō couldn't say anything but a soft, "Yes."

'_Even though most of the times he acts crudely and sometimes aloof, even though he acts like he doesn't care about me at all, the truth is… that Matsuoka-senpai is a really nice person who cares about the others, although he doesn't know how to express it,_' Aiichirō bit his lower lips as his mind swarm in thoughts.

"…_Where is t—the…hospitōru?_" Aiichirō gave it one more shot.

"Now, that's better," praised Rin.

"T—thank you very much!" Aiichirō bowed happily.

"Now, for the 'hospital' part…"

* * *

_**Author's Note** _-_ When I wrote the scene where Nitori is studying English, I was like, "What did I study for English when I was in high school again?" I was home-schooled and never really studied, so I have no idea about the curriculum. Whatever I put in that scene was the result of 1-minute Google searching. LOLOLOL._

_Anyway. OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG! EPISODE 7! I LOST ALL MY CAN. IT'S JUST—TOO MUCH OF RIN/HARUKA AND RIN/ AIICHIRŌ! IT'S LIKE EACH EPISODE FEEDS ME WITH EACH PAIRING EQUALLY. THIS ANIME SUCKS BALLS, I HATE IT SO MUCH._

**_Disclaimer _**-**_ I DIDN'T HURRIEDLY OPEN MY LAPTOP AND TYPE THIS CHAPTER GODSPEED AFTER WATCHING EPISODE 7. NOPE._**


	3. Chapter 3

When the day of the joint practice finally came, Aiichirō, who diligently woke up an hour ago to make his bed and wash his face and teeth, was already zipping up his Samezuka Academy jersey and putting in everything he needed to his sport bag. Today's weather was perfect—he couldn't ask for more—from the sunshine shining brightly through the windows, warming up the whole room, to the picturesque cherry blossom trees that could be seen from the dormitory rooms.

'_Even with such a great weather…_' Aiichirō sighed in disappointment. He peeked from behind his shoulders carefully as to not wake a certain person with jagged, sharp-like teeth up—which was still sleeping so soundly while hugging a poor pillow in his arms—to see how was he doing.

Unfortunately for the silver haired boy, the said person opened his eyes before he could even react, catching him peeking red handed.

"What?" Rin grunted. Aiichirō noted that from the scale one to ten, Rin's friendliness level would place two_…_ or maybe three, if he was in a good mood. B—but, that didn't mean that he was an awful person! When he was really nice, it would rise up to then! Eleven—no—twelve, even!

"…I was wondering if you would come to the joint practice, Senpai," Aiichirō mumbled, unsure. Half of him was worried that he this sentence would only irritate his upperclassman. He knew Rin has told him many times to focus on himself instead of worrying over someone who didn't even want to be worried for, but he just couldn't let it pass through him that Rin was clearly wasting his talent away. Rin was a wonderful swimmer, but he could reach far more if he put himself more into it!

"No way, too much trouble," Rin yawned dismissively, without even caring that his reply felt like a thorn to Aiichirō. As much as Rin hated to admit it, he did feel a big lump of curiosity. He wanted to see his former teammates. He wanted to see how they were doing after all these years. Have they changed? Have they also moved on from the memories of years ago and changed their swimming style, too? The questions he wanted to know the answers of were piling like a mountain, but he refused to submit to his memories. To him, all he needed to see now was his future.

'_That's just like you, Matsuoka-senpai…_' Aiichirō sighed inwardly, giving up.

Aiichirō grabbed his sport bag and hanged the strap on his shoulders, before looking up again toward Rin who still haven't moved an inch in his bed and said, "I'll be going now, Senpai!"

Rin watched as his underclassman literally ran toward the door and left the room before he could even get the chance to give a reply. Somehow seeing Aiichirō who could always stay in high spirit reminded him of Nagisa. They both couldn't stay still even for a second, couldn't shut up, and the most annoying trait was, how they couldn't stay away from other people's business.

'_All the while having so many things they need to worry about themselves…_' Rin chuckled to himself.

'_But they also… have a great level of endurance and perseverance…_'

* * *

The members of Samezuka Academy swimming club were already prepared in their swimwear and swimming gears when Rin walked into the indoor swimming pool. Although he said that he wouldn't come to the joint practice, he would be lying if he said he wasn't interested. Plus, he wasn't planning on swimming with them, anyway.

"Oh, Senpai," Aiichirō called when he saw Rin walking toward the crowd. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Rin answered shortly. He turned his head toward his former teammates, all the while trying to look as uninterested as possible. His eyes quickly found Haruka's figure behind Seijūrō's broad shoulders.

'_What the hell, he doesn't even look interested in the least…_' Rin grumbled inwardly.

It was his little sister who first noticed him coming. The long-haired girl came strutting toward him, as she called him with affection, "Big brother!"

Rin quickly leaned his head in as he whispered, "Gou… What are you trying to do?"

Before Gou could even give an answer, Nagisa was already waving to him as he toddled closer, "Rin-chan! We get to swim together again!"

"_'Together'_?" Rin echoed mockingly, before let out a demeaning snort, "You guys are a waste of my time," he replied coldly as he walked out of the indoor swimming pool.

'_That's right._

'_I can't look back at the mistakes I did back then. I'm not the same weak brat, who didn't know any better and could only cry over his defeat anymore!_

'_That's why, Haru… Tell me that I'm not the only one… who is looking forward to a fair match with you!_

'_So I can finally… move on…_'

* * *

"Ready…" Seijūrō's voice was heard, echoing inside the spacious indoor swimming pool.

Rin's body shifted so that he could get clearer look. He narrowed his eyes in a frown, watching closely at Haruka who was already in position.

'_Show me, Haru…_'

"Set!"

'_Show it to me!_'

The sound of whistle blowing marked the beginning of the race. In that very second, Haruka's body swiftly dashed into the water, his back arched beautifully, his form… perfect. His body submerged into the blue, sparkling water, in the most natural way—it was as if he was born to swim. The rippling water sounded like music to their ears.

At that very moment, it was… It came to him. It was as if he just opened the treasure box, filled with memories they knitted together day by day, about their journey together, filled both with happiness and sadness. But he didn't feel scare in the least. Even if there were times when he felt down, he knew, that with their hands on his back, he could be anything.

He could overcome any barriers.

'_Why did I… bury it deep inside my heart?_

'_And why did you… open it so easily? As if I've never had it buried at all…_'

Rin's hands curled into fists as he suppressed the overwhelming passion inside him. There was no other way to move forward… than defeating Haruka. He could never go forward if he kept being trapped inside these chains!

* * *

_"I want you to show me that sight again… I've forgotten what it was that I saw."_

* * *

'_I'll show it to you, Haru… This time, I'll make sure you'll burn the sight into your brain, I'll make sure you'll never forget!_'

* * *

When the joint practice session with Iwatobi High School swimming club members has finally come to an end, without even giving Aiichirō the chance to properly say goodbye to the team members, Rin has pulled him by his arm and dragged him into their room.

With so many pent-up frustrations surfacing up simultaneously, there was no way he could wait any longer.

The second he closed the door to their room, he landed his lips on Aiichirō's roughly as his hand made its way to the door knob, locking it. He licked on the rows of Aiichirō's teeth, asking the boy to open his mouth. The moment Aiichirō relented, his tongue forced its way into the hot cavern, lapping on the hot and wet surface hungrily.

After he pulled back from the passionate kiss with a loud pop, he lowered his head as tongue travelled down to the nape of Aiichirō's neck, licking at the smooth and supple skin, enjoying the salty taste of water mixed with his sweat.

"I wanna bite you so bad…" Rin whispered, blowing hot breaths as he panted feverishly.

"Matsuoka-senpai…" Aiichirō whispered his name weakly. "…It's fine… You don't need_…_ to hold yourself back…"

"Nitori…" Rin sighed in relief. Just before he could travel further down, he suddenly felt a sting of pain when his conscience hit him that this wasn't right. That he shouldn't have used Aiichirō who knew nothing as anybody's replacement. That this unfortunate boy could have had it better without him treating him as Haruka's makeshift every time he felt like letting out his sexual frustration toward his former teammate.

"…I'm sorry, Nitori," Rin pulled back in guilt. He should stop all this now before it was too late—no, he shouldn't have done this from the start! The guilt inside him just kept building up as he finally realized how much he had wronged Aiichirō. "I'll hand in the application for room replacement later today. You can go take a shower now."

'_What?_' Aiichirō's eyes widened in distraught.

"No!" he cried as his pale hands desperately grabbed on Rin's hands, not letting him go.

The only thing he feared the most has finally come: The day Rin finally realized that he couldn't live up to his expectations, that no matter how hard he tried, he could never be Haruka.

The day Rin finally left his side.

'_I know how much you love Nanase-san, Senpai… I know that your heart could never be mine…_

'_At least, let me have your body beside me instead…_

'_So, please… Don't go._

'_Stay by my side…_'

Aiichirō tried his best to hold back that tears that were threatening to stream down from the rims of his eyes. Despite his trembling lips, he forced himself to draw a smile, and whispered softly, "…I love you… I love you, Matsuoka-senpai…" he bit his lower lips, bearing the pain that came from inside his chest as a stream of tears finally rolled down his cheeks.

Rin paused immediately to the sudden confession. He watched in silence as Aiichirō trembled beneath his arms. He could feel Aiichirō's grip on his hands tightened. Somehow, the way he desperately hold his hands told Rin how long this boy had been waiting for him, how he had been walking on tiptoes as to not letting him know that he had been in love with him for a long time.

"…I'm sorry," it was Aiichirō's voice that finally broke the deafening silence. "I—I was being very selfish... I—Matsuoka-senpai, if… if you want to submit the application, then go ahead!" he forced yet another smile. "I—I won't stop you—_ngh—_"

"Nitori…" Rin hugged the boy when he broke into tears again. His hand rubbed the back of Aiichirō's head, his fingers tangled between the silver strands of hair that were still wet due to the joint practice.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I'm sorry_…_"

* * *

_**Author's Note** - I don't know if you find Rin out of character here (especially the last scene of this chapter), but the way I see it, Rin actually is not a jerk? He worries about Makoto, makes sure that Gou comes back to the lodge safely, stops himself when he realizes he talks too much to Nitori and tells him that he has the talent in swimming… I figured he would apologize wholeheartedly if he realized that he had hurt someone to the point of making the person cry…_

_By the way, thank you very much for reading this story! I was really, like, REALLY surprised when I saw the readers' count. I thought I would get like, two or three comments per chapter at most, 'cause I thought this pairing was unpopular. Or is it actually popular but I just don't know it? 'Cause all I see on Tumblr is RinHaru and MakoHaru and ReiGisa._


End file.
